West Seneca Kindergartner Needs Diabetic Alert Dog

WEST SENECA -- A West Seneca kindergartener needs your help. On Valentine's Day, doctors diagnosed Hayden Van Hauwaert with Type 1 Diabetes. Her family is getting her a Diabetic Alert Dog which could save Hayden's life, but the dog costs thousands of dollars.

Hayden's family is picking her puppy up in Salt Lake City later this month. She is a chocolate lab named Maggie.

Hayden is one of the estimated six-thousand children in Western New York diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Last month, Hayden spent several days in the hospital after doctors figured out why she was sick. If her blood sugar gets too low or too high, she could die.
That's where the dog comes in. It can smell when Hayden needs medical attention.

"It's not going to make us go to bed at night and question if our daughter's gonna be alive when we wake up. Diabetics are known for dying in their sleep. That dog, just knowing that it's going to be in the house and can sense it, it's going to provide so much relief for all of us," says Hayden's mother Joelle Van Hauwaert.

The Van Hauwaert family is having a benefit for Hayden Saturday, March 23 at the Patchin Fire Hall. Tickets are $25 at the door.

The American Diabetes Association tells us it does not have a Diabetic Alert Dog program in Western New York, but it does know that they are gaining popularity all over the country.